‘Peddling lies to scare pensioners’: Condemnation of scare tactics grows

Another senior’s group has condemned Labor’s pension card lies, with the Prime Minister saying the Opposition is “peddling lies to scare pensioners”.

Labor is “peddling lies seeking to scare pensioners” about going on a cashless welfare card, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, as another senior’s group condemned the false claims.

Labor is refusing to pull its claims, despite them having been rejected by the government, the Council on the Ageing, National Seniors and resulted in a Labor MP apologising for misleading the Parliament when repeating them.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Labor is “peddling lies” to pensioners on the cashless debit card. Picture: Jason Edwards

Labor has targeted social media and letterbox drops in marginal seats with claims pensioners would be put on the cashless debit card, which in some trial areas quarantines 80 per cent of JobSeeker payments for under 35s to prevent welfare being spent on alcohol, gambling and drugs.

It has expanded its attack, pointing to a Toowoomba North LNP branch motion taken to and supported at the party’s state conference calling for the cashless debit card to be expanded to more districts – though it does not mention pensioners.

Nationals Seniors Australia spokesman Ian Henschke criticised the tactic and said his organisation was receiving calls from pensioners scared they would end up on the card.

“Why don’t we just focus on the real policies instead of the ones that are not real? This is what we should be doing,” he told 3AW.

Mr Morrison said pamphlets claiming pensioners would be put on the welfare card was a “despicable lie” and accused Labor of “pedalling this lie seeking to scare pensioners”.

“Anthony Albanese needs to come clear on this, he needs to rule this out, because it is not true,” he said.

The Prime Minister also took aim at Mr Albanese’s treasury spokesperson Jim Chalmers, who he branded as ‘Sneaky Jim’ while responding to Labor’s claims pensioners would be forced on to cashless welfare cards.

“It’s just simply not true,” Mr Morrison said.

“If he wants to talk about trust and integrity, he should show some today and the Labor Party should stop frightening pensioners.

“It is an out and out disgusting lie.”

Labor leader Anthony Albanese says the party’s scare campaign came from government policy. Picture: Toby Zerna

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, facing questions on the tactic for the second day in a row, said if the Coalition wanted to “really rule it out” then it would support Labor’s policy to abolish the card.

“Here’s what she (Anne Ruston) said in 2020, during this term of this parliament, this minister said this; ‘we’re seeking to put all income management onto the universal platform which is the cashless debit card,” he said.

The quote was in reference to expanding the cashless debit card to replace the other income management tool, the BasicsCard.

Asked how this wasn’t a scare campaign, given Labor had been accused of “scaring old people” by the Council on the Ageing, Mr Albanese said it was based upon the government’s policy.

Department of Social Services deputy secretary Liz Herfren-Webb told a recent Senate estimates hearing that there was no current laws that would allow pensioners to be put on the cashless debit card, and the prospect had never been raised with her.

On February 24 this year Labor’s state Keppel MP Brittany Lauga was forced to apologise and withdraw comments she made misleading Parliament that “the current federal coalition government was planning to force every age pensioner in Australia onto the cashless debit card”.

On the ninth day of the campaign, the Labor leader came out firing on Tuesday and accused the Coalition of its own “scare campaign” about Labor’s energy pledge.

In a fiery press conference, Mr Albanese took aim at Mr Morrison and his cabinet after Energy Minister Angus Taylor claimed the Opposition’s $78 billion pledge to transform the electricity grid would drive up household power bills.

It comes as Mr Albanese looks to put a bad first week on the campaign behind him, after having to defend a series of fumbles while battling worsening polls.